Cascais will host a project that uses satellite imagery, oceanographic data, meteorological information and artificial intelligence to forecast episodes of proliferation of an invasive alga originating from the Pacific that appears on Portuguese beaches, it was announced today.
The aim of the EO4RO project, led by GMV in Portugal in partnership with Plymouth Marine Laboratory and funded by the Cascais City Council, is to forecast episodes of proliferation and accumulation of the invasive alga Rugulopteryx okamurae.
In a statement, GMV notes that the “Pacific-origin invasive alga is advancing along the Portuguese coast and already represents a growing threat to beaches, marine biodiversity and economic activity”.
“To respond to this phenomenon, the Cascais municipality will invest in an innovative solution based on space technology, artificial intelligence and ocean science capable of predicting when and where the alga may reach the coast,” the note states.
According to GMV, the key difference lies in the ability to forecast: “Rather than acting only when the alga has already reached the shore, the system aims to help authorities predict where and when the problem may arise, enabling a faster, more efficient and informed response.”
The EO4RO project (Earth Observation for the Mapping and Monitoring of Rugulopteryx okamurae) will be developed over a year by a consortium consisting of GMV’s team in Portugal and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, one of the international reference centers in marine research.
If the project results are positive, according to GMV, Cascais “could become the first Portuguese municipality to test an integrated solution of this kind and a European case study in smart coastal management, with potential for replication in other vulnerable areas, from the Algarve to the Canary Islands, from the Mediterranean to the North Atlantic.”
The president of the Cascais City Council, Nuno Piteira Lopes, said, cited in the statement, that the partnership “demonstrates the potential of collaboration between science, technology and local government in responding to emerging environmental challenges.”
For his part, Filipe Brandão, from GMV Portugal, said that the “innovation gains real value when it improves people’s lives and helps protect the territory.”
“We are applying technology developed for global challenges to a very concrete problem that affects beaches, ecosystems and local economies,” he noted.
